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Ohio Copper Mining Company of Utah was a predecessor of U.S.
Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. The company was founded in 1903 as the Ohio
Copper Company (OCC) and soon thereafter leased the Winnemuck concentrating
mill, an old mill that had been used on lead-silver ores in the Bingham mine
during the 1870s and 1880s. OCC would operate all its future mines out of
Bingham. OCC sought outside financial assistance in 1906, bringing in F.
Augustus Heinze. Unfortunately Heinze mismanaged the company and was forced to
resign two years after his entry.

In 1910 OCC erected a 2,000-ton concentrating mill in Bingham, and
the mill operated intermittently until 1919. Between 1910-1919 the company
suffered financial difficulties, including bankruptcy in 1916. In 1912 the
company was reorganized as the Ohio Copper Mining Company, and after its
bankruptcy in 1914, became Ohio Copper Mining Company of Utah (OCMCU) through
reorganization in 1916.

OCMCU began to shift its efforts to recover copper from low-grade
porphyry ore in 1919, but the decline in the price of copper led OCMCU to defer
the project until 1923, when the company used leaching methods to retrieve the
copper. The venture proved successful, saving OCMCU financially. In addition,
OCMCU broke the world record for low-cost copper production.

OCMCU continued its leaching operations until 1937, as its
profitability began to decline. The company operated a mill and plant to
re-treat tailings from earlier milling endeavors. When the company exhausted
ores in the area by 1947, it ceased operations. United States Smelting,
Refining and Mining Company bought OCMCU's leases in 1950.

Much less is written about Bingham Central Railway. Incorporated in
Salt Lake City in 1907 to build and maintain a railroad "for the public
conveyance of persons and property between Salt Lake City and Bingham," the
company at some point became a subsidiary of OCC and its successors.

Scope and Content

The collection includes the correspondence, financial and legal papers
of the Ohio Copper Company of Utah and its subsidiary, Bingham Central Railway.
The collection has been maintained by the Utah Division of State History for
approximately 30 years. However, the collection needed to be processed and
placed in acid-free folders and boxes.

The collection is arranged close to its original order, beginning with
general correspondence, then continuing with alphabetical files. The
alphabetical files included correspondence from and to individuals, whose last
names were filed alphabetically. The correspondence in the alphabetical files
has not been pulled and reorganized under the general correspondence; rather,
the original order was maintained by keeping the individual correspondence
files with the alphabetical files.

There appears to have been no original order to the files after the
alphabetical files. Legal and financial records were jumbled in a box, folded
and stuffed in envelopes and folders. Items concerning Bingham Central Railway
were organized alphabetically. The financial and legal records for the Ohio
Copper Company, however, were in complete disarray and needed to be separated
from each other. The financial and legal documents are arranged alphabetically
within each series.

Great care has been taken to ensure the longevity and accessibility of
the collection. Its current order should make the collection and its register
understandable.

The Ohio Copper Mining Company-Bingham Central Railway Records are
the physical property of the Utah Historical Society, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Literary rights, including copyright, may belong to the authors or their heirs
and assigns. Please contact the Historical Society for information regarding
specific use of this collection.